Noticed
by CanadianSpoon
Summary: High School;Matthew was consistently unnoticed, which still applied when in the presence of his crush, Feliciano. Feli socialized with Matthew often, but Matthew was certain that Feli was mistaking him for Alfred, as usual. As Matthew spent more time with him and his feelings of affection grew, he knew the time would come where Feli would realize Matthew isn't who he thinks he is.


**A/N: ****I'm taking a little break from Bending All the Rules and When All Was Lost to write some one-shots! I came across some AU ideas on Tumblr, and then it came upon me that I've never published a one-shot! I've written some on paper in the past, but I've never actually posted any to the internet! It was a shocking discovery, so I decided to dedicate some time and writing to a handful of short, one chapter stories. As I mentioned before, I stumbled upon a Tumblr post, or a master post rather, of AU ideas that I'm assuming were up for grabs! I would credit the original posters, but many of the user names were cut off. So, credit to whoever came up with these creative alternatives to the everyday, overly used AUs, and I hope I did these ideas some justice. This third story is about a high school student who has a crush on another student, but believes that his crush is mistaking him for somebody else. Enjoy and please review!**

**Human AU [NOT countries!], High School AU**

**Pairing: Matthew Williams(Canada) x Feliciano Vargas(North Italy)**

**Minor Characters: Alfred Jones(America), Ludwig(Germany), Kiku(Japan)**

* * *

Noticed

Matthew Williams wasn't born with social anxiety, as one should assume. However, looking at his life at school, one would think that he was destined from birth to just go unnoticed. The blonde had friends in elementary school, and was always bright, beaming, and charming as a child. However, once middle school rolled around, and he noticed other quiet kids were being bullied, he decided it best to stay away from the crowd, lest he be the one under the fist of another boy. Now, being a junior in high school, he had witnessed hardly any harassment anymore, but this sheepishness had become an acquired behavior that he couldn't seem to shake off. Sometimes being nearly invisible to those around you seemed favorable, but at other times, it was nothing less than depressing.

"Hey, wait up!" a familiar voice shouted from behind Matthew as he was walking to his locker.

Matthew sighed. This was going to be a perfect example of one of the more 'depressing' moments. He stopped and turned to see the Italian boy from his biology class. The classmate also happened to be Matthew's crush, but alas, that would probably never be known by anyone other than Matthew himself.

"Ve, I thought I'd never catch up with you! You are fast at walking!" the auburn-haired teen tried to regain his breath.

"Ah, Feliciano. Nice to see you," Matthew smiled, "Yeah, I, uh, like to stay out of people's way, so I walk fast. Anyway, what's up?" he asked as they walked to his locker together.

"Oh, I was just wondering who you were going to the game with! A friend, or a group, or what?" Feliciano inquired.

'_Game?_' thought Matthew. Oh, right, the upcoming basketball game. Anyone could guess that Matthew was never one to attend sports games. Of course, his classmate must have mistaken him for his brother, Alfred, just like everyone else did. They did look very similar, after all. Besides, Feliciano and Alfred were good friends, so that must have been why the brunette was socializing with Matthew so much lately.

"That? I'm not going. I never go to the games," the teen replied.

"What? Aw, how come?" the other whined in disappointment.

"Because I'd rather stay home and read."

"Oh, come on! That's no way to live! Why don't you come with me and my friends, si?" he suggested.

"I...I don't know."

"Pleeeeeease?"

'_How can I turn down that adorable pout?_' Matthew thought as a light blush dusted his cheeks.

"Well, I guess I don't have anything better to do-"

"Yay! This is fantastico! Oh, I forgot I'd better get to my locker too before I'm late again! I'll see you later. Ciao!" the Italian waved off as he ran, nearly colliding with three other students upon his departure.

Matthew chuckled at the irony of the situation. He hoped that Feliciano wouldn't end up inviting both he and Alfred, in thinking that they were the same person. Imagine how awkward that would be, both Matthew and his brother showing up, and Alfred was already there, and when Matthew arrived they'd think "Woah, who is _this_ guy? You have a brother Alfred?" Geez, how embarrassing that would be. Matthew shook the thought, just hoping for the best, and opened up his locker to trade out his current textbooks for that of his next classes. He traveled briskly to his next classroom, pondering how the event might unfold.

* * *

The days went swiftly by, as they often did for Matthew, and sooner than he particularly wanted, it was the day of the basketball game. As he assumed, Alfred was going with his friends, but thankfully not with the ones that Matthew had thought.

"Wait, you're not going with Feliciano and his friends?" Matthew asked as he sat on his bed, legs dangling off the side.

"No, man. I'm going with a different group, why?" replied Alfred as he went through Matthew's closet to look for a shirt to wear to the event. All of his laundry had been dirty for days, and instead of washing it like he was told, borrowing from his younger brother's wardrobe was his best option.

"Well, I was just curious because I was invited to go with Feli and his group of friends, but I just assumed that he thought I was you when he asked..."

"Why would you assume that?" asked the older boy, inspecting a shirt before shaking his head and putting it back.

"You know, because I don't know anybody. Why would someone just suddenly acknowledge my existence when they never have before?"

"Oh come on, don't be so miserable. Maybe he notices you because you're into him!"

"Alfred, if the world worked that way, I would've at _least_ gotten my first kiss by now, let alone a date. I'm certain he just thinks that I'm you and still hasn't realized it yet."

"Well, he isn't the brightest guy," Alfred shrugged his shoulders.

"Please, Al, don't be rude! He's smarter than people think! You should know, you're in our biology class too. He always has intelligent things to say!" Matthew frowned in disapproval.

"Aww, look at you defending your crush!" his brother teased.

Matthew blushed.

"Oh shut up and just steal my clothes already."

"Matt, you know you gotta pick out an outfit too, right? Especially if you're going out with your boyfriend."

"Oh my god Alfred! We aren't dating!" the blonde pouted.

"But you wanna be~"

"Well, duh! Like that's ever going to happen though."

"Hey, you never know. He could be into you too, Mattie. Just sayin'" he shrugged again. "Now get over here and help me pick an outift for you too. I already figured out what I'm wearing."

Matthew rolled his eyes. _As if_ any of his crushes would ever be reciprocated. He decided to drop the argument and choose an outfit for the game that night. After getting some advice from his brother on how to dress not just for a school event, but in front of one's crush, Matthew had some clothes set aside for the occasion. Matthew hoped the day would go by slowly. He didn't know whether attempting to socialize with people he hardly knew was a good idea yet or not, and he didn't want to find out too soon.

* * *

Whether he was ready for it or not, the night had finally arrived. As his nervousness grew, Matthew considered not going to the game at all. However, not only would that have been extremely rude, but it may be the only time he'd get to spend having fun with his crush before said crush realized Matthew isn't who he thought he was.

'_Might as well enjoy spending time with him while it lasts,_' Matthew thought and smiled casually, making his way to the gymnasium. He stepped inside, the room bursting with music and conversation, and peered around to look for his group. He spotted a brunette boy, a bit on the short side, waving his arms about rampantly and shouting. '_Yep, that's him alright!_' Matthew giggled, making his way through the crowd in the bleachers.

Feli was only accompanied by two of his close friends, Ludwig and Kiku. Matthew was thankful, as he thought the group would be much larger.

"H-Hey you guys," the blonde gave a small wave, taking a seat next to Feliciano and pushing up his glasses.

The Italian's two friends looked at each other and shrugged. They had no idea who this person was that Feliciano decided to invite. Luckily for Matthew though, they were both the type that tried to avoid all uncomfortable situations possible, so they never bothered to ask Matthew who he was.

"Ciao! You made it! Wow, you look really nice! Ve, now I feel like I dressed poorly!" Feli exclaimed, unafraid of using physical contact to admire Matthew's clothing.

"Oh, not at all, Feli! You look very, uh, handsome!" said Matthew, internally scolding himself for sounding so forward. His cheeks flushed with warmth when the other teen began stroking his arm, praising his outift. He wasn't used to such brazen contact, but wasn't exactly opposed to it.

"Ah, si grazie!"

The lights went dim and the music signalled that the players were making their way onto the court.

"You got here just in time, si?" Feli smiled to Matthew. The Canadian saw the joy in the man's hazel eyes, and instantly he knew that he'd have a good night.

* * *

He wasn't sure how long the game lasted, but then again, Matthew didn't mind. He had more fun than he thought he would. Even if Feli's German friend scared him a bit, and the other one didn't make good conversation, they still all managed to laugh and generally enjoy each other's company. Then of course there was Feliciano himself, who lit up the night and really made the game worth attending. Matthew had a great time, but at the end of the day, when he was laying in bed, recalling the event, he still wasn't convinced that Feli even knew who he was.

"Maybe he still thinks I'm you..." he said, talking to his brother who was laying on the floor next to his bed.

"No way. He couldn't think you're _me_. I mean, you're not loud or anything. And you're not nearly as cool," Alfred snickered.

"Oh god Al, shut up already," Matthew rolled his eyes. "You're such a narcissist."

"A what?"

"Nothing. Besides, it was pretty loud during the game, so he wouldn't have known that I'm quiet if no one could hear anything."

"Well, think about this Mattie. It's not like he's called you 'Alfred', right? That means he doesn't think you're me!" suggested his brother.

"Well, he hasn't exactly called me 'Matthew' either. So that hypothesis goes right out the window." The blue-eyed boy sighed.

"Well, that's no reason to not hang out with him. You should still hang with him, eat lunch with him and stuff. Then you can get clues on whether he really knows that you're you, you know?"

"Hm, that's not a terrible idea. Except that I don't know if he'll consistently keep mistaking me for you. He's bound to figure it out sometime." Matthew tapped his foot. He tended to be restless when he was anxious.

"Or, y'know, he doesn't think you're me and legitimately wants to talk to you?"

"Al, we could go in circles with this conversation. Mind telling me what you're doing in my room, anyway?"

"I think I heard something in my closet. It could be a ghost or something. Maybe a burglar."

Sometimes, it was hard for Matthew to believe he was the _younger_ of the two brothers.

"Whatever. You can sleep in here. Again."

"Thanks! I wasn't gonna ask, though," chuckled Alfred.

Matthew sighed once more, obviously no longer in touch with whatever Alfred was saying. "You know, one of these days this infatuation is bound to pass. It always does. I just wish it would happen sooner than later."

"Aw, Matt..." Alfred frowned. "Don't give up. There is a chance! He could totally be into you! And if he's not, then it's his loss!"

"Al, you're sweet. I'm so glad I'll always have at least one person who's by my side. You're the best."

"C'mon, don't get all sappy with me!" Alfred smiled, "Love you, Mattie."

Matthew couldn't help but crack a smile as well, "I love you too, Al."

* * *

The next day, Matthew was sure Feli had realized that he wasn't talking to Alfred these entire past days. As the brunette had scurried up to him fretfully, Matthew was certain there would be some sort of "Sorry, I thought you were your brother and I don't want you to feel bad but we're definitely not friends and I need to let you know that right now before this situation gets more awkward!" statement involved. The blonde bit his lip, preparing himself for rejection.

Feli rushed over to him, "Hey! I'm so sorry, I should have told you last night!"

Matthew smiled, in irony, as usual. "It's alright...-" He tilted his head slightly in confusion when Feli pulled a red jacket out of his backpack.

"You left this at the game! I picked it up last night, and I was going to give it to you before you left, but someone had spilt soda on it so I thought I should take it home and have my grandpa wash it for you so it would be clean! Mi dispiace!"

"Oh, my sweatshirt..." Matthew was so sure. _I guess he still thinks I'm Alfred._ "Thank you, Feli. That was very kind of you, to have it cleaned."

"No problem! I've got to go to class but I just wanted to give that to you, okay ciao! See you later!" And as quickly as he arrived, Feliciano was gone.

'_How long is he going to keep mistaking me for my brother? Usually people figure it out by now. Should I tell him? But I don't want him to stop hanging out with me... I want to enjoy this while I can. I'm going to wait this out. If I don't tell him, maybe I can hang out with him until these feelings pass. It shouldn't be long._'

So Matthew waited. For days. Weeks. Eventually, it had been two entire months that Matthew had socialized with Feliciano, the whole time the Italian still not realizing that Matthew wasn't Alfred. Originally, Matthew was pleased that he was spending so much time with his crush. However, as they spent more time together, rather than dwindling, Matthew's feelings of admiration only grew for the other boy. Besides that, Matthew felt more or less deceitful for leading Feliciano on to believe he was Alfred. It felt as though Matthew should tell him the truth. That he wasn't Alfred, and that the person Feli thought he was hanging out with wasn't his friend, rather his friend's brother. After all, maybe what Matthew really needed to get past this crush was to spend time away from him. But was that really what he wanted? The affection he felt was so much deeper now than it was at first. Could he really let all of this go?

And then, it happened. The defining moment that Matthew knew couldn't be avoided forever.

Matthew was about to walk into his biology class when he heard Feli giggling with his friends. It made the blonde smile, but when he heard what the Italian was talking about, he stopped outside the classroom door to listen.

"I'm going to do it today! I'm going to ask him to prom!"

Matthew's heart raced and his cheeks flushed red. He bit his lip as he held his textbook against his chest. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was it really true?

"Way to go Feli! I know you can do it!" he heard one of their classmates say.

"I know, I'm nervous! But I know he'll say yes! Alfred will be so happy!"

Matthew's smile faded, and his heart dropped. He clutched his book tightly, his palms sweating. '_Oh no..._' he thought. He was wrong - very wrong. He tried to calm his breathing so that he could go into class, pretending to be naive to the conversation, but his nerves wouldn't allow him. Before he could fight it, his ocean eyes began to flood over. He couldn't go into class like that, he couldn't be seen that way. Instead, he paced to the bathroom, locking himself in one of the stalls. He dropped his backpack and book to the floor, his back against the stall door as he slid to the ground. He sat on the tiles and wept quietly, not wanting anyone to hear him. How could he be so foolish? He had known all along that Feli thought he was Alfred, so why did he have so much trouble believing it? Why did he let the fallacy get to his head? This was one of the most embarrassing moments of his life, even if no one was there to witness it.

After an hour or so of solitary self-confinement in the bathroom, Matthew decided it was time to get up. He had to get over this somehow. The least he could do was congratulate Feli, right? The only way to confront the problem, was to literally confront the source, after all. The blonde knew that the only way to come to terms with the fact that Feli didn't like him, and honestly probably still had no idea who he even was, was to hear it from the man's lips himself, face to face.

He sighed, picking up his backpack and placing his book inside. Outside the stall, he checked his face in the restroom mirror to make sure any evidence of his crying was wiped away. Matthew took a deep, long breath, and whether or not he was ready, went to go find Feliciano at his locker.

Whether or not he was ready wasn't exactly the correct statement, because once he saw Feliciano standing there, Matthew knew he definitely wasn't ready for this. He had never faced direct rejection before, and he didn't want to know what it felt like. Maybe if he just left and never talked to the Italian again, it would be like it never even happened. That road was too late to take, however, because Feli had already spotted the blonde and waved him over.

Matthew gulped and drifted over to the brunette's locker.

"H-hey, Feliciano," he said sheepishly.

"Ciao! How are you?" the hazel-eyed man beamed, putting his books away.

"Oh, I'm alright, as usual..."

"That's bene! Ah, there is something I've been needing to tell you! I've been waiting to see you all day!" Feli exclaimed.

"Really? Oh, that's funny because I actually needed to tell you something too." Matthew's hands and knees shook ever so slightly, his nervousness peeking through.

"Si, go ahead then, Matthew."

"Right. Feli, I've been thinking, and I need to let you know... W-wait, did...did you just call me Matthew?" the blonde was taken aback. If he called him Matthew, that means that he knew Matthew wasn't his brother!

"Si, Matthew! Isn't that your name?" Feli tilted his head.

"Well, yes, but- wait, so you don't think I'm my brother? You've known that I wasn't Alfred? For how long?!" Matthew was still in shock.

"Ve, since I've been talking to you? It's been a couple months, hasn't it? At least since I asked you to come to the game with me." Feliciano tapped a finger to his chin in thought, nodding his head in affirmation. "Si, I have known your name for a while!"

"But, why haven't you called me Matthew until this very moment? Do you realize that you haven't called me by my name the entire time that we've been hanging out?!"

"Ah, si..." Feli blushed with embarrassment, "That's because I can't pronounce it very well! In Italian, we say 'Matteo', but I didn't want to call you by a name that isn't yours, so I've just been practicing how to pronounce it!" the brunette smiled.

Matthew was baffled. The answer was so simple. This whole time that he was fretting about Feli thinking that he was Alfred, and really Feli knew who he was and truly wanted to hang out with him, he just couldn't pronounce his name! However, that still didn't explain one thing.

"But, what about prom? Weren't you going to ask-"

"Right!" Feli cut him off, "That's what I need to tell you! Matthew, I want you to go with me! I mean, if you don't have anyone else as a date, si?"

By now, Matthew was awfully flustered.

"M-me? You want to take me? But Feli...what about Alfred?"

"Hm? What about him?"

"I...I heard you earlier. You said you were going to ask him to prom, and that he'd be so happy."

"What? No, no!" Feli laughed, now understanding that Matthew was utterly confused. "Matthew, I was planning to ask you from the start! I meant that Alfred would be happy for you!"

"...What? I mean, I know that he knows I like you...But, how did you know that I like you, and how did you know that he knows I like you?!"

"We're friends, silly! A while ago I told him that I like you, and he told me that you like me too!"

"Oh my god, that sly jerk! He told you?! Is that why he kept telling me to keep talking to you to see where it goes? Is that why he was always picking out my clothes to help me look nice in front of my crush? Because he knew everything this whole time and didn't tell me?! He's really going to get it later!" Matthew pouted, feeling the fool for being played so easily by his own flesh and blood. He couldn't believe that Alfred had known the entire time that Feli mutually liked him, and his own brother hadn't said a word about it. "Besides that, I can't believe you liked me this whole time and I was fretting about it every day!"

"You're such a worrisome guy! But you know, now you're making me the worried one!" the Italian furrowed his eyebrows, bouncing on his toes anxiously before Matthew realized that he still hadn't given the poor boy an answer.

"Oh, Feli! Of course I'll go with you! I'm just so frustrated, but relieved, but still confused! But of course I'll go to prom with you. I literally thought you would never ask me." Matthew grinned, forgetting the details of the situation for now, and just hugged the shorter man as tight as he could, lifting him up.

"Wah! You are not-so-surprisingly strong!" the brunette giggled and the Canadian had gently set him back down.

"So, since we're you know, going on a date, does this mean we're, uh, d-dating?" asked the coy blonde with a hint of a smile.

Feliciano blushed, "Si! I guess it does!" The boy leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on Matthew's pink cheek. "So that means you'll be my boyfriend, right Matthew?" he smiled brightly.

"Yes, absolutely!" replied the taller of the two without hesitation. He had been waiting for that question for so long that the answer had already been on his lips, just waiting to be said.

"You know," started the other, "Maybe our first date can be coffee? I don't feel like going to my next class. I'm just too excited to spend time with you!"

Matthew thought for a second. He had already skipped his previous class, one more couldn't hurt. "Sure, Feli. I wouldn't mind." He propped up his backpack more comfortably on his shoulders, holding one strap and letting his other hand dangle. Feli stuck out his pinky and curled it with the blonde's own little finger.

"Andiamo!" he exclaimed, leading them down the hallway.

Matthew smiled the kind of smile he hadn't felt in a while. It wasn't ironic, or sarcastic, or satiric. It was a genuinely blissful smile. Not only was Matthew finally _noticed_, which was all he ever could have asked for, but his affection was returned to him, and that was undeniably the single most satisfying, rewarding feeling in the world.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading! Please review and favorite! If you liked this one I have written other one shots that you should check out too, and will be writing more!**


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